Bison kill site

Prior to the arrival of European horses to the plains, all Native activity was done on foot, including buffalo hunting. To make this process easier, hunters steered the herd animals towards cliffs or box canyons making them easier to dispatch. Many of these sites were used for centuries, based upon the deep bone beds and associated stone butchering tools.
One site, Canada's Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump has been named as a UN heritage site and the Canadian PO has issued some special cards (one is coming from an archaeologist friend in Saskatoon) but in the meantime this great card was part of a trade

Stamps & Post Offices

back home the Post Office in Anadarko Oklahoma has murals painted by members of the Kiowa 5, an influential group of Kiowa artists who developed the flat painting style which was influenced by old ledger art. Many of the US Post Offices were painted during the 1930s under a government program designed to employ artists during the great economic depression. My Indiana post office also has a mural which I always enjoy seeing...it depicts the pioneer times of NW Indiana of the 1830s or so.

Interestingly the Smithsonian Postal Museum is studying how Native people have been presented in all these old murals and paintings and discussed on their webpage:
http://postalmuseum.si.edu/indiansatthepostoffice/index.html


Another exhibit examined how Native Americans have been presented on postage stamps...whenever I mail a Native themed postcard I use these old stamps which I obtain from a dealer in California and save just for the right cards.
http://arago.si.edu/flash/?eid=385|s1%3D6|


Thanks to the staff at Smithsonian for recording and analyzing this type of public information!!

Southwest travel

My Okie pen pal Gary loves to travel and stop at tourist attractions along the way. He also likes to buy tourist items...we are so much alike in this respect!! He recently drove from eastern Oklahoma out to the SW and bought postcards. He kindly sent me this one which offers an overview of Navajo arts: silverwork, weavings, pottery, bakset and stone sculpture. The items are in the Heard Museum collection. Gary also added a lovely blessing message which ends the "Creator is watching the People." Awesome, thanks Gary!

Yakima

I received an Official card from a Postcrossing member that is a wonderful addition to my collection....I don't have very many Plateau/inter-montaine cards so this is nice

these Yakima leaders were in Washington, 1927, perhaps to discuss tribal concerns or treaty payments etc. The Government generally preferred that leaders not come to discuss matters but to just let the local Agents take care of problems. However the Tribes often went around those Agents who they felt were not receptive to ideas or who were oppositional.

Ancient Mexico

a lovely card arrived today from Mexico showing the Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacan. Its an old site located near Mexico City. The stone city was built and occupied 100BC-800AD by an early complex culture in the north part of the Valley before Mexica people even arrived. Art and ideas spread out from this location and influenced other early societies. Today its a popular site for new age religious activity.

Osage

A really great swap with a lovely Postcrosser in Texas brings a treat to my collection...this card is from a series that commemorates the US Civil War as experienced in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). During that time many pro-southern mixed blood tribal people who owned black slaves supported and fought for the Confederacy, but other native peoples joined the Union. Battles and militia action disrupted life in Oklahoma, causing many to flee to Texas and Kansas. I am not sure how the war impacted tribes such as the Osage so this will require additional study.
This card features men in bear claw necklaces, a symbol of strength & bravery, while their clothing is decorated with both ribbonwork and prairie style floral beadwork

The great card took a slight beating from the Post Office, but proudly shows its travel scars!

Kwagiulth canoe

a wonderful surprise card was send by a kind Postcrosser who I trade with occasionally...she visited the Royal BC Museum while on vacation to Vancouver Island and really enjoyed an exhibit of native languages. She sent this card to share her experience...it appears to be a still from the Curtis film "In the Land of the Headhunters" (later renamed "In the Land of the War Canoes").

the card text: This 60 foot ceremonial Kwagiulth canoe carries the groom and his family towards the beach to meet his bride and her family. Kolus is at the head of the canoe, the groom at the rear. The character carved on the side of the canoe is Nax wax daxw also known as the sea eagle. Photograph by Edward S. Curtis in 1914.